[USA] BuildingStudio [Archive]

Guess Who

07-10-2005, 05:34

BuildingStudio

Coleman Coker founded buildingstudio with two principles in mind.

First, to blur the boundaries between architecture, art, craft and thinking. Rather than separate disciplines, buildingstudio treats each as essential to the larger realm of building.

And coupled with this, buildingstudio intends to explore built presence grounded in the experience of the real world. Building this way is realized through a process of critical reflection, listening and response. As such the work of the studio is an ongoing ontological investigation where the meaning of presence is key. Acknowledging this as primary, the skill gained through building fuels innovation and discovery that enlivens the design process. With this in the forefront, buildingstudio intends to continue developing the kind of built environment that heightens one’s experience of being in the world.

I was fortunate enough to study under Coleman Coker for a semester while in school, and met Sambo (Samuel Mockbee) on several occasions. I learned a great deal from these men about the art of architecture and the concept of an architect.

Guess Who

07-10-2005, 05:35

BRIDGES Center
Memphis, TN

The BRIDGES Center is made up of two groups: BRIDGES and The Work Place. The Work Place program calls for administrative offices, classrooms, computer labs, and a teaching kitchen primarily for adults. The BRIDGES space houses administrative offices, a boardroom, teaching spaces for teenagers, art studios and computer labs.

Guess Who

07-10-2005, 05:35

Bridges 2

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07-10-2005, 05:36

Bridges 3

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07-10-2005, 05:37

Expanded Field House
Anchor Point, Alaska
Planned as a retreat and a work place away from the office, the home is to be used for short visits several times a year and more lengthy stays a couple of visits each season. Additionally, it will be a place for extended family gatherings (the site was the childhood home of one of the owners); sisters and a mother will use the home as well.

Two initial concerns helped shape the design: Traffice noise was the first, the home backing up to a busy highway needed sheltering from the blare of year-round truck traffic and summertime recreational vehicles. Second, since the proect would not be used for weeks at a time security was important (the Owner described that the home be like the “Batmobile, when unoccupied it would be locked down and impenetrable”).

Guess Who

07-10-2005, 05:37

Eldorado Canyon
Boulder County, CO

Situated on the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountain Front Range, the site is surrounded by Eldorado Canyon State Park, known for its challenging rock climbing.

The project concists of four cast-in-place concrete “bars” that step up the hill. These lightly sit on top of the site so that the existing topography is left unharmed. As they ascend each bar is set back from its lower neightbor in response to the steeply sloping site conditions.

Guess Who

07-10-2005, 05:38

Eldorado Canyon 2

Guess Who

07-10-2005, 05:39

The Flow-Through House
Chetham County, NC

The client requested a new home for a first time rural dweller. A 40-minute commute from the Owner’s work, the house must offer unique amenities worth the travel time. The 2,300 SF design becomes a part of the wooded site with plenty of outdoor spaces for sitting and reading.

Guess Who

07-10-2005, 05:39

Patterson OB/GYN
Memphis, TN

All spaces in the building rely on natural light fro its clerestory windows above the seven-foot datum. These clerestories occur at the building’s perimeter and as well along each side of the interior corridor. Helped by the building’s narrowness-thirty-two feet-the clerestories fill the interior with sunlight and provide transparency to the project while allowing views to the sky from every room.

All HVAC ducting is below slab for energy efficiency while helping keep the roof structure as thin and light as possible.

Guess Who

07-10-2005, 05:40

Clinic 2

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07-10-2005, 05:40

Texas Twister
ReyRosa Ranch Retreat
Ellis, Texas

This project, a forty-five minute drive south of Dallas, is used for frequent weekday visits and longer weekend stays. The owners, avid bird watchers with an abiding love for the ranch, are restoring some of its areas by reintroducing wetlands, native grasses and indigenous bird populations. The retreat’s six bedrooms accommodates guests and acts as a beginning point where visitor’s can set out on loosely defined nature trails meant to offer a heightened appreciation of the landscape.

The main structure, oriented on an east-west axis, sits between hardwoods and an open meadow. The west entrance is situated between the woods and a smaller stand of live oak that shades the entry and west carport from the afternoon sun. The west parking area has a steeply angled 2X cypress screen-a “flag”-that announces the retreat’s presence for arriving guests. A similarly constructed angular screen surrounds the rooftop mechanical units.

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07-10-2005, 05:41

Texas Twister 2

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07-10-2005, 05:41

Trapezoid
Memphis, TN

Program: Provide a mixed-use building with ground floor commercial space (7,000 SF) and eight upper story apartment units. Residential areas are to have varied apartment layouts. Project is to have sufficient off-street parking for commercial and residential tenants. Building is to contextually fit into urban area currently undergoing revitalization.

Design: The design, in reestablishing an urban context in the Uptown area, follows the sidewalk edge along its street sides. The trapezoidal shape of the footprint which connects the southwest and northeast property corners, is meant to shield the mandatory off-street parking from the public. While doing this, the parking area is designed for a large number of trees which, when mature, will extend the pocket park to the west so that the parking lot and park are merge. The parking lot is designed with open strips of non-paved crushed stone to help alleviate rainwater runoff.

Guess Who

07-10-2005, 05:42

Trapezoid 2

Guess Who

07-10-2005, 05:43

...and of course the website: buildingstudio (http://www.buildingstudio.net)

sigue2000

07-10-2005, 08:27

New to me. Very interesting work. I like the 'veil-like' sunscreens on the clinic in picture 2. Thanks for posting.

oenggun

07-10-2005, 18:10

Interesting tectonic language...!

This is new to me, as well,..

thanks for sharing.

primocordara

07-10-2005, 20:50

Of course...

primocordara

07-10-2005, 20:52

as seen on GE...

Guess Who

07-10-2005, 21:56

Can always count on you primocordara. Thanks!

cheffey

07-10-2005, 23:57

Thank you for the post, this sort of regionalist expression is near and dear to my heart. This firm used to be Mockbee/Coker, the Mockbee later went on the create the Rural Studio at Auburn University with DK Ruth. Which enabled students to build housing, community spaces, etc. for the poorest county in Alabama, free of cost to the end user. Architecture with a conscience.

The language that displayed above is evident in Sambo's student's work as well.

http://www.ruralstudio.com/

http://www.architectureweek.com/2000/0823/design_1-1.html

swami

08-10-2005, 01:20

Bridges Center -
I just saw that the guy who built this table, Fletcher Cox, was one of my fifth year architecture school professors.

Cool!

ryo

08-10-2005, 14:34

Trapezoid
Memphis, TN

This brickwork reminds me of Miralles works... Very interesting office! :)

Guess Who

11-10-2005, 14:33

Here's the kmz file for the Trapazoid...

Guess Who

11-10-2005, 14:34

...and as seen on GE.

Guess Who

11-10-2005, 14:44

Bridges Center -
I just saw that the guy who built this table, Fletcher Cox, was one of my fifth year architecture school professors.

Fletcher Cox was one of the professors that taught with Coleman Coker in Memphis. It was quite a time reading Heidegger with him. I can still hear him now: "Fu**'n A!" Great guy and very talented.

arv

11-10-2005, 15:43

A question to all the GE gurus , how do you spot a building so quickly ???

primocordara

11-10-2005, 16:11

A question to all the GE gurus , how do you spot a building so quickly ???

Well, you certainly need some directions and what to look for! ;)
In USA you can locate it with the address, in other cities there are street names.
The Flickr pictures sometimes are a hint, thought they might be misplaced.

Ross Millaney

04-10-2006, 20:04

digdoi

04-10-2006, 20:22

Sorry to go off on a tangent here but that model is beautiful-especially the landscape-its a great representation!-what method do you think was used to achieve that blocky landscape,id love to use that in my projects! :wondering

THIS? (http://www.pushpullbar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3320&page=6&highlight=pool) :wondering

Ross Millaney

05-10-2006, 15:07

....PePaKuRa! :craqueur:

Guess Who

08-10-2006, 19:46

...what method do you think was used to achieve that blocky landscape

This method was used by several students at the University of Tennessee 10+ years ago (including me). What I did was to draw a grid over a contour map (3" square or so) and draw sections for all lines. Then cut out each section with chipboard and slot them together. Then start covering it with triangles of chipboard, each cut by hand. Very time consuming but effective.

I'll see if I can't dig up photos of my old models.

Ross Millaney

09-10-2006, 12:07

Guess that would be great-im very interested to see if it works-they really are beautiful models!:craqueur:

Guess Who

14-10-2006, 03:54

I'll see if I can't dig up photos of my old models.

Here we go. Sorry about the quality of the images, but they are scans of a print of a scan of a picture from over 10 years ago. :rolleyes:

Now's not the time to get into the projects, I'm just showing the modeling technique.

Project 1, Image 1

Guess Who

14-10-2006, 03:54

Project 1, Image 2

Guess Who

14-10-2006, 03:55

Project 1, Image 3

Guess Who

14-10-2006, 03:56

Project 2, Image 1

Guess Who

14-10-2006, 03:57

Project 2, Image 2

This project didn't have as much topography, but the technique still worked (more than is visible in the picture).

Ross Millaney

16-10-2006, 15:08

thanks for sharing!i like the models-but what is the technique exactly-im confused?!

archie1492

26-02-2007, 22:55

Building Studio does most of their design work in model form. I got a tour of his office about a year ago. It was interesting to see a table saw and other model making equipment next to their computer workstations. They work back and forth. His office reminded me of what a studio should be. They do good work. Although, from what I hear Coleman is in New Orleans right now teaching and his interns are doing all of the work. There's a rumor that they might be moving the office to Louisana permanently.

archie1492

26-02-2007, 23:00

thanks for sharing!i like the models-but what is the technique exactly-im confused?!

Export site sections from autocad, longitudinal and cross sectional. Build the grid. Get some scissors, a knife, and glue and start putting down triangles. You shouldn't have to measure very many of the facets if you work from one end to the other. Hope that explains it.
:)